In 1991 Steinway released their line of Boston pianos. The Boston line is designed by Steinway & Sons and manufactured, to Steinway specifications, by Kawai in Hamamatsu, Japan. Steinway's goal was to provide Steinway dealers with high quality, mid-priced pianos that have some Steinway features, and aimed at consumers whose budget did not allow for the purchase of a Steinway. Steinway's rationale in choosing to have these pianos made in Japan was to capitalize on the very efficient and high-tech manufacturing process of the Japanese,while using its own skills of design.